Ok, so it’s Christmas! And we all know what that means; treats, treats and more treats. It’s hard at this time of year with young children as they tend to go sugar crazy and get caught up with all the excitement of Christmas. It’s totally understandable with every table in sight offering sweets and chocolate. With this in mind, I do think that perhaps us parents could do with a little help with treats that are not laden with sugar, but will make a child feel that they are getting something really special.

My kids love a good jam tart. These little tarts are very homely and will make your house smell delicious. The kids will love to get involved in making these too, which makes them excellent for a rainy day activity. They are so simple, and free of added sugar (if you use fruit spread). As a result, they aren’t too sweet, but they hit the right note when you do need a little something special.

Ingredients:

225g plain flour

1 tsp mixed spice or cinnamon (optional)

100g butter

1 egg yolk,

1-2 tablespoons cold water

Fruit spread (any flavour you like – I use Waitrose Superjam)

Method:

Put butter in a bowl and rub in the flour until like breadcrumbs. Add the spices, if using. Crack the egg into the bowl and add the cold water and mix until the mixture comes together into a dough. Cover and refrigerate until it is a rolling consistency. Roll out and cut circles with a round cutter. Line these circles onto a muffin tin to make little cases. Spoon in a tablespoon or so of jam into each case. Any leftover dough you can roll out and cut stars (or any shape you like) and lay across the top to decorate.

Bake at 200 until golden. This recipe makes around 10 tarts.

Tip 1 : If you are REALLY cunning, you might be able to sneak a little cooked beetroot into the jam by blitzing it up and adding it to the jam.

Tip 2 : If you omit the cinnamon, the dough can be used as a really good savoury tart or quiche case, although you will most likely need to double the quantity.

Enjoy!